Waste Management, Inc. $WM Shares Purchased by Robeco Schweiz AG

Robeco Schweiz AG increased its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 309,312 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 9,451 shares during the period. Waste Management comprises about 1.5% of Robeco Schweiz AG’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Robeco Schweiz AG’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $67,959,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,990,067 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,566,508,000 after purchasing an additional 553,605 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,668,221 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,250,613,000 after purchasing an additional 277,250 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,954,519 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $873,276,000 after purchasing an additional 11,688 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Waste Management by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,530,900 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $781,494,000 after purchasing an additional 236,439 shares during the period. Finally, Sustainable Growth Advisers LP increased its position in Waste Management by 12.6% in the third quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 3,262,148 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $720,380,000 after buying an additional 364,512 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 121 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.27, for a total transaction of $29,677.67. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 9,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,279,294.11. This represents a 1.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO John J. Morris sold 4,211 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.38, for a total transaction of $1,024,873.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 99,929 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,320,720.02. This trade represents a 4.04% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 92,616 shares of company stock worth $21,849,115 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WM. UBS Group raised shares of Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $225.00 to $260.00 in a report on Friday, January 9th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $263.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Weiss Ratings raised Waste Management from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Waste Management in a report on Friday, March 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $250.00 target price (down from $254.00) on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $255.67.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM opened at $220.75 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $232.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $222.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $88.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.49. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $194.11 and a 1-year high of $248.13.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.28 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 10.99%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.67 EPS. Research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were given a $0.945 dividend. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.70%.

Waste Management Company Profile

Waste Management, Inc (NYSE: WM) is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.